Elvis tour bus comes to Tupelo

n Bill and Linda Kinard
also have a 1957 pink
and black Cadillac.
By M. Scott Morris
Daily Journal
TUPELO – A little more of Elvis Presley is coming to his hometown.
Bill Kinard, president of Legacy Hall of Fame, said he has taken possession of a 1976-77 MCI diesel tour bus and a 1957 pink and black Cadillac that once belonged to the King of Rock ‘n’ Roll.
“We’re going to get them cleaned up then put them on display,” said Kinard, who owns the Fans Forever Memorial Wall in Elvis Presley Heights.
Kinard and his wife, Linda, inherited the vehicles from the Professional Sports Hall of Fame Museum in Oregon. When the museum’s founder, Bruce Buseman, died in 2004, the Kinards were the museum’s only legal board members.
“We’d never met Mr. Buseman in person,” Kinard said. “We talked to him over the phone several times.”
After some legal wrangling, a judge ruled that the bus and the car belonged to the Kinards. The judgment also included cars that were featured in the movies, “Wayne’s World,” “The Blues Brothers” and “Megaforce,” as well as other Presley memorabilia.
The Kinards’ priority was to get the bus and car to Tupelo. They worked with Larry Michaels with Celebrity Coaches to transport the vehicles. Celebrity Coaches will oversee the rehabilitation of the bus.
The goal is to have the Presley vehicles on display by June 1 in time for the 2009 Elvis Presley Festival. Kinard said if work isn’t complete by then, it’ll be done in time for the anniversary of Presley’s death in August.
“We’re trying to give people another reason to come to Tupelo,” Kinard said. “We’re just trying to help the city stimulate tourism.”